Hello,

I have been wondering about Androids "oneness" (meaning both are as one) with Google Gmail. When someone first buys a tablet with Android OS, don't you have to have a Google Gmail account in order to even use the tablet in the first place? Isn't there a way to use the tablet without having a Google Gmail account?

Thank you

You can use the tablet, but you can't use the Google Play store (for practical purposes, that means you don't have access to installilng apps) or get updates from Google.

My having an Android phone is about the only reason I have a gmail account. I almost never use the email address.

Some may not allow you to do much without some account. Make a goofy account and only use it for the device. Stupid Google.

You can use a linux app called "googleplaydownloader" to get the apk install files from google play. Then enable installation of 3rd party apps on your device which then lets you install raw apk files bypassing google play store. This may or may not work depending if the app itself needs a google account or google play services. But if you really want to screw google that's the way to go

There is also f-droid which is an installable catalogue of FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) applications for the Android platform and it doesn't require any account.